The only North African team to make it to this year's football festival,
Tunisia remained unbeaten throughout an admittedly weak qualifying section,
clinching a berth at the World Cup finals for the second straight time.

Considered by many as the weakest team to take part in this summer's
tournament, Tunisia achieved their best World Cup result at the 1978 tournament
where they shocked Mexico 3-1.

At France 1998, despite being pegged in a tricky group that included
England, Romania and Colombia, the North Africans performed manfully and
managed to gain a point from their final match with the South Americans.

Led by French coach Henry Michel, Tunisia had a dismal African Nations
Cup in Mali earlier this year, being eliminated in the first round after
two goalless draws with Senegal and Zambia and a 1-0 defeat to Egypt.

Particularly galling for Michel was the fact that Tunisia failed to score
a single goal in all three matches, not the kind of statistic that will
have Belgium, Russia and Japan in a state of panic ahead of their Group
H encounters in June this year.

Michel, who had coaching experience at three previous World Cups with
France (1986), Cameroon (1994) and Morocco (1998), had been expected to
introduce a more attacking dimension to the team's play since talking
over last November.

Hopefully for Tunisia's fans, the African Nation's Cup display was not
an exhibition of his "attacking improvements."

Despite the poor performance in the African competition, Tunisia's football
association has voiced its intention to allow Michel to lead the country
through the 2004 African Nations Cup competition, set to be hosted on
home soil. A repeat of this year's goalless, winless display in Mali may
force them to reconsider.

Capped over 70 times, the reclusive Sellimi is one of the few Tunisian
players to find success in European football and is currently enjoying
his fourth year with German Bundesliga side SC Friedburg after spells
with Nantes and Spanish second division outfit Real Jaen.

The 29-year-old forward was controversially dropped by Tunisia after
refusing to join the national team in Spain to prepare for the African
Nations Cup earlier this year.

This latest blow came after a disappointing World Cup qualifying tournament
in which he failed to score and suffered the double indignity of missing
a penalty before being red carded in a crucial home tie against the Ivory
Coast.

However, with Tunisia failing to notch up a single strike in Sellimi's
absence during the African tournament, the smart money is on him leading
the North African's attack against Japan, Belgium and Russia this summer.

Should he manage to propel Tunisia to an unlikely last 16 spot, Sellimi
may have to prepare himself for some additional unwanted attention.